Interested in some hauntingly short fiction by our favorite horror writers? Scan the QR code
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THE TELLTALE HEART
By Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
http://goo.gl/DG5iZ
Synopsis from DailyLit.com: The anonymous narrator of Edgar Allen Poe’s 1843 story, The Tell-Tale Heart, is
suffering from a strange disease. His illness makes him hyper-sensitive to everything around him. Sights and
sounds that other people might hardly notice can send this particular man spiraling into anguish and anxiety.
The narrator lives with an old man who happens to have a clouded bluish eye, an abnormality that fascinates
and disturbs the other man. Obsessed with his neighbor’s eye, the narrator decides that its odd appearance
must signify some kind of evil. He resolves to kill the elderly man and dispose of his body in a gruesome fashion,
assuming that no one will suspect him of such a heinous crime. As he soon realizes in horror, however, the
innocent victim of this troubled man may never let him forget what he has done.
WHERE ARE YOU GOING, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?
By Joyce Carol Oates (1938-)
http://goo.gl/YQ4K9
15 year old Connie is obsessed with her looks. She’s fairly certain that her mother prefers her older sister June,
who works as a secretary and still lives at home. Connie enjoys hanging out at the Big Boy and checking out
guys, until one day when she spots an old beat up car with strange writing on it. The car belongs to Arnold
Friend, who claims to be Connie’s age but is evidently much older. Soon, things turn creepy as Arnold slowly
reveals himself as a dark and threatening personality. How will Connie fare? This famous story by Oates was
inspired by the Bob Dylan song “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” and turned into the 1985 film Smooth Talk.
DRACULA’S GUEST
By Bram Stoker (1847-1912)
http://goo.gl/D9aQS
Synopsis from Wikipedia.com: "Dracula's Guest" follows an unnamed Englishman traveler as he wanders
around Munich before leaving for Transylvania. It is Walpurgis Night, and in spite of the coachman's warnings,
the young Englishman foolishly leaves his hotel and wanders through a dense forest alone. Along the way he
feels he is being watched by a tall and thin stranger.
THE CALL OF CTHULHU
By H. P. Lovecraft (1809-1849)
http://goo.gl/dLpWb
This eerie, sci-fi horror story became a film in 2005.
Synopsis from imdb.com: In the story, a dying professor leaves his great-nephew a collection of documents
pertaining to the Cthulhu Cult. The nephew begins to learn why the study of the cult so fascinated his
grandfather. Bit-by-bit he begins piecing together the dread implications of his grandfather's inquiries, and soon
he takes on investigating the Cthulhu cult as a crusade of his own. As he pieces together the dreadful and
disturbing reality of the situation, his own sanity begins to crumble. In the end, he passes the torch to his
psychiatrist, who in turn hears Cthulhu's call.
THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW
By Washington Irving (1783-1859)
http://goo.gl/IzGMo
Ichabod Crane (the new school teacher in town) and Abraham van Brunt are vying for Katrina van Tassel’s hand
in marriage. They live near Sleepy Hollow, a wood known to be haunted by the legendary Headless Horseman,
who rides at night looking for his head. One night, Ichebod encouters the ghostly horseman and terror ensues –
but was the horseman really just Abraham attempting to spook Ichabod away from Sleepy Hollow and Katrina?
THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO
By Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
http://goo.gl/YwN57
The Montresor has been insulted one too many times by his enemy Fortunato. Knowing that Fortunato has a
weakness for Amontillado sherry, he lures him into his own dark and cryptic basement where he proceeds to
entomb him alive into the walls! Enjoy another creepy, classic Poe horror tale and decide if you think Fortunato
deserved his fate or if the Montresor is really one of Poe’s most deviously insane characters.